After borrowing lines of popular songs and dialogues for film titles, Tamil filmmakers are now smitten by numbers as nearly half a dozen films with numeric titles are in the offing. From superstar Rajinikanth’s 2.0to Vijay Sethupathi’s 96 and Atharvaa-starrer 100, audiences will not have any difficulty remembering the titles of these films. As fascination for numeric titles is gaining popularity in mainstream cinema, we wonder if this is a new marketing gimmick or genuinely relevant.

Rajinikanth, Amy Jackson and Akshay Kumar in a poster of 2.0. Twitter

2.0, which marks the reunion of filmmaker Shankar and Rajinikanth, has already created quite a buzz amid general audiences and fans of the franchise. While the exact reason behind the title still remains a mystery, it has been learnt from reliable sources that it has something to do with one of the characters of Rajinikanth who will be seen as robot Chitti and scientist Vaseegaran. “The Chitti audiences will see in the film will be the updated 2.0 version and hence, the title 2.0. Just like how we have Android 2.0 version, the film will introduce audiences 2.0 version of Chitti,” a source told Firstpost.

Director Sam Anton's upcoming cop thriller with Atharvaa is titled 100 because the story demanded it. “The film’s story revolves around events that take place in a police control room. 100 is the number for police control and we thought there can’t be a better and more accessible title than 100 for this story,” Sam said. The film features Atharvaa in his maiden cop role while Hansika Motwani plays the leading lady.

According to a leading producer, who wished to remain anonymous, numeric titles do help when the film gets dubbed into another language. “When you have a number as your title, you can dub and release your film in any language. You don’t have to worry about changing the title in another language. For a film like 2.0, which stars Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar, the title will be a major appealing factor to draw audiences irrespective of the language it gets released in. It also helps in promoting the film as the title remains the same across languages.”

Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha Krishnan-starrer 96 is another film that has piqued the curiosity of audiences with its title. In a media interaction earlier this year, Sethupathi said the title signifies the year of a school batch. “It’s the year Trisha and I first meet in school. It’s a love story that unfolds in class 12.”

If the industry grapevine is anything to go by, the title 96 also indicates the age of Sethupathi’s character in the film. He will be seen playing a 96-year-old very briefly. The story tracks three phases in the life of Sethupathi who will be seen playing a 16-year-old, 36-year-old and 96-year-old.

GV Prakash Kumar’s 4G, directed by Venkat Pakkar, is a fourth generation love story. Talking about the title, the director had said in an interview, “We are living in a telecommunication world and the title 4G refers to fourth generation love story. It’s a fantasy-laden romantic drama and it’ll explore four phases of romance in the protagonist’s life.”

Anita Udeep’s upcoming film, featuring Bigg Boss Tamil-fame Oviya Helen in the titular role, is titled 90 ML. Talking about the quirky title, Udita had earlier told Firstpost, “90 ML is all about a group of five women and their desires in life. Most of the women-centric films fail to discuss what women really want. So this is going to be a bold yet fun and entertaining film."

Other notable Tamil films in the pipeline with numeric titles include 46 and 8.